~Friday~ I’ve watched 10 movies already in 2015, which if I keep up this pace will easily beat my average annual number watched. Anyone just starting to read my blog might think that movie entries are all my blog consists of, but that’s not the case.
With that said, I watched Ida (2013) today, free with my Amazon Prime subscription, and as a result of its 2015 Academy Award win as Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Achievement in Cinematography.
The synopsis
In 1962, Anna is about to take vows as a nun when she learns from her only relative that she is Jewish. Both women embark on a journey to discover their family story and where they belong.
The trailer
My thoughts and observations
- On the heels of The Homesman, this was another dark film, but I really enjoyed it.
- Themes touched on:
- Finding one’s roots
- Finding one’s self
- Adoption/abandonment motives
- Dealing with the past
- Religious beliefs
- Alcoholism
- Closure
- Experience
- The Holocaust
- It will come as no surprise to those of you who know me at all that I am not a patient person, and the dialog was such that it left me a little fidgety at times. It was described this way in this Sight & Sound review by Catherine Wheatley: “…the narrative [is] laconic to say the least.” I was most appreciative for this new vocabulary word.
- Speaking of vocabulary words, I also learned the word surtitles, and how it differs from subtitles, in that review.
- I sat at my L-shaped desk to watch this movie on my computer, and I stopped it half way through to have dinner, with the food being placed to the right, on the long side of the “L.” What I’ve learned is that it’s hard to read subtitles when you’re eating like that, since your head is turned away from the screen to put food in your mouth. Those were the few times I was grateful for the aforementioned laconic dialog. (There, I’ve used my new vocabulary word in a sentence already.)
- I was probably a quarter of the way through this film before I became cognizant of the fact that it was in black-and-white.
- That aunt sure can smoke. OMG.
- My favorite line was by said aunt when she asks her niece—who’s shortly going to take her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience—”Have you ever had sex?” The niece says that she hasn’t (outside of her mind), and then the aunt says something to the effect of, “You should. Otherwise, what sort of sacrifice will these vows of yours be?”
- I loved the saxophone player’s music, plus he was easy on the eyes.
- At one point, even though the character’s name is pronounced “Ee-da,” I thought of Ida Terbet, who I hadn’t thought about in years. She was our realtor when my wife and I sold “the big house.” She was way aggressive, which is why we used her, but I never liked her. (But I digress.)
- I gave this movie two thumbs up.
Have you seen this movie? If so, what did you think of it?